# Against the Current (兰香如故)

**Against the Current** (兰香如故, Lan Xiang Ru Gu) is a 2026 Chinese historical drama starring [Tan Songyun](https://www.edgepedia.org/tan-songyun) and Liu Xueyi, adapted from He Yanshan's (禾晏山) novel *Lan Xiang Yuan* (兰香缘). It follows Shen Jialan, the granddaughter of a Grand Academician whose family is massacred after her grandfather is convicted of treason, and who survives by assuming the identity of a deceased servant girl, Xu Lanxiang, entering the household of her former fiancé's family as a low-ranking maid.<sup>[1](https://www.cnsa.cn/art/2026/9/10/art_1989_49296.html)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://wetv.vip/zh-cn/play/94jt6sxiwsjw5n6-%E5%85%B0%E9%A6%99%E5%A6%82%E6%95%85)</sup>

| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Chinese title | 兰香如故 (Lan Xiang Ru Gu); English title Against the Current<sup>[3](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Against_the_Current)</sup> |
| Premiere | September 11, 2026, CCTV-8 second prime-time slot and Tencent Video simultaneously<sup>[1](https://www.cnsa.cn/art/2026/9/10/art_1989_49296.html)</sup> |
| Episodes | 47, about 45 minutes each<sup>[4](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E3%80%8A%E5%85%B0%E9%A6%99%E5%A6%82%E6%95%85%E3%80%8B/63111041?fromModule=lemma_inlink)</sup> |
| Source | Adapted from the novel *Lan Xiang Yuan* (兰香缘) by He Yanshan (禾晏山)<sup>[1](https://www.cnsa.cn/art/2026/9/10/art_1989_49296.html)</sup> |
| Directors and writers | Co-directed by Huang Yingxiang and Chen Dan; written by Tong Hua and Xiao Lou<sup>[1](https://www.cnsa.cn/art/2026/9/10/art_1989_49296.html)</sup> |
| Lead cast | Tan Songyun as Xu Lanxiang / Shen Jialan; Liu Xueyi as Lin Jinqi<sup>[3](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Against_the_Current)</sup> |
| Producers | CCTV, Tencent Video, and Xinglian Film (星莲影视)<sup>[1](https://www.cnsa.cn/art/2026/9/10/art_1989_49296.html)</sup> |
| Peak popularity | Tencent Video in-platform heat value peaked at 33491, the platform's highest of 2026<sup>[5](https://m.weibo.cn/2/detail/comos%3Anivvnpv5878467)</sup> |

## Spoilers

### Plot

Shen Jialan, the eldest granddaughter of the Grand Academician's household, is betrothed from childhood to Lin Jinqi, the eldest grandson of the Minister of Personnel's Lin family. When court politics turn against her family, her grandfather is convicted of treason and the Shen household is massacred. To protect itself, the Lin family breaks the engagement and forms a marriage alliance with the newly favored Zhao family.<sup>[2](https://wetv.vip/zh-cn/play/94jt6sxiwsjw5n6-%E5%85%B0%E9%A6%99%E5%A6%82%E6%95%85)</sup>

Jialan is saved by Xu Wanquan and his wife, servants of the Lin family whom Jialan's mother had once helped. The couple substitutes their own daughter, Xu Lanxiang, who has just died of illness, and Jialan enters the Lin household under that name as a third-rank maid. Refusing to accept her circumstances, she uses the literacy and household-accounting skills learned in her childhood to survive the household's internal struggles, gradually wins Lin Jinqi's affection and the Lin family's trust, becomes the head of the household, and ultimately clears the Shen family's name.<sup>[2](https://wetv.vip/zh-cn/play/94jt6sxiwsjw5n6-%E5%85%B0%E9%A6%99%E5%A6%82%E6%95%85)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[6](https://k.sina.com.cn/article_7879922982_1d5ae15260680bd03k.html)</sup>

The romance is deliberately slow-burning. The lead pair has no dialogue for the first six episodes and no eye contact for the first ten, a structure commentators described as an anti-formula choice in a genre saturated with manufactured romance; the relationship develops instead through shared crises, including a storytelling scene in the military camp and a joint escape.<sup>[7](https://ent.sina.cn/2026-09-17/detail-inisaiep4455563.d.html)</sup> Tan Songyun plays the character from age 16 to 80, spanning maid, household head, and old age.<sup>[8](https://k.sina.com.cn/article_7879922982_1d5ae15260680bc6xa.html?from=ent)</sup>

### Scheduling and the finale

The broadcast schedule changed mid-run. From September 27, 2026, updates dropped from two episodes per day to one, a change attributed to making room for the new CCTV-8 drama *Wu Ke Ti Dai* (无可替代); all platforms paused on September 30 and resumed single daily updates on October 1.<sup>[11](https://k.sina.cn/article_7880068358_1d5b04d0606801b64k.html)</sup> Earlier reports had described the series as split into an upper part, *Lan Xiang Ru Gu* (31 episodes), and a lower part, *Xiang Qi Chang Chuan* (香气长传, 16 episodes),<sup>[17](https://k.sina.com.cn/article_7880068798_1d5b04ebe06801ctdi.html)</sup> but on September 24, 2026, the production officially announced that all 47 episodes would run continuously without a season break.<sup>[18](https://news.tvbs.com.tw/entertainment/drama/4028750)</sup>

Finale timing differs among trackers: TVmaze lists episode 47 on October 5, 2026,<sup>[19](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/78158/against-the-current)</sup> Amo lists the last episode on October 4,<sup>[20](https://amo.watch/zh/tv/%E5%85%B0%E9%A6%99%E5%A6%82%E6%95%85-282326/)</sup> and a TVBS projection placed the SVIP finale around October 9.<sup>[18](https://news.tvbs.com.tw/entertainment/drama/4028750)</sup> A widely circulated claim that Shen Jialan dies tragically in Lin Jinqi's arms was identified as a fan edit of footage from other dramas; according to the direction of the source novel, the drama ends with the injustice overturned and the couple withdrawing from official life together.<sup>[18](https://news.tvbs.com.tw/entertainment/drama/4028750)</sup>

## Production

The series was filmed at Hengdian, Zhejiang.<sup>[4](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E3%80%8A%E5%85%B0%E9%A6%99%E5%A6%82%E6%95%85%E3%80%8B/63111041?fromModule=lemma_inlink)</sup> The production spent roughly four months preparing its art design and eight months building a 40-mu real-scene garden, refining details from the overall layout of pavilions and courtyards down to carved latticework and plantings.<sup>[4](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E3%80%8A%E5%85%B0%E9%A6%99%E5%A6%82%E6%95%85%E3%80%8B/63111041?fromModule=lemma_inlink)</sup> The visual style takes the [Ming dynasty](https://www.edgepedia.org/ming-dynasty) painter [Qiu Ying](https://www.edgepedia.org/qiu-ying)'s handscroll *Nandu Fanhui Tu* (南都繁会图) as a reference, combining the air of Jiangnan gardens with lively street-life textures.<sup>[9](https://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/20260911/c4a6631fd8bf4cc2bb8c0ab42426b336/c.html)</sup>

Director Huang Yingxiang, a Peking University Academy of Arts graduate who further studied directing in the United States, described the project's approach as "costume-drama realism" centered on the theme of how to live, and the team visited real gardens in Nanjing and Suzhou during a roughly nine-month preparation period.<sup>[10](https://www.bjnews.com.cn/detail/1792297495019938.html)</sup>

## Broadcast and reception

The drama premiered on September 11, 2026, in CCTV-8's second prime-time slot and on [Tencent Video](https://www.edgepedia.org/tencent-video), with VIP members receiving new episodes daily at 21:30 and SVIP members one episode ahead.<sup>[1](https://www.cnsa.cn/art/2026/9/10/art_1989_49296.html)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[11](https://k.sina.cn/article_7880068358_1d5b04d0606801b64k.html)</sup> Overseas, it streamed on WeTV and Disney+.<sup>[12](https://news.tvbs.com.tw/entertainment/drama/4023952)</sup> Its registered episode count with the television regulator was changed from 31 to 47 in September 2026.<sup>[4](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E3%80%8A%E5%85%B0%E9%A6%99%E5%A6%82%E6%95%85%E3%80%8B/63111041?fromModule=lemma_inlink)</sup>

**Popularity.** The Tencent heat value passed 22000 on premiere day, broke 30000 within five days, and peaked at 33491, which reports describe as the platform's highest of 2026 and its third-highest historically, behind *Joy of Life 2* and *A Dream of Splendor*.<sup>[4](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E3%80%8A%E5%85%B0%E9%A6%99%E5%A6%82%E6%95%85%E3%80%8B/63111041?fromModule=lemma_inlink)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[5](https://m.weibo.cn/2/detail/comos%3Anivvnpv5878467)</sup> CCTV-8's ratings peaked at 1.7291% by one measure, and the channel led its time slot nationally.<sup>[13](https://ent.sina.cn/2026-09-19/detail-inisiwvx2466885.d.html?vt=4)</sup> Total effective views across platforms passed 1.5 billion by October 6 and 1.8 billion by October 12, 2026.<sup>[4](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E3%80%8A%E5%85%B0%E9%A6%99%E5%A6%82%E6%95%85%E3%80%8B/63111041?fromModule=lemma_inlink)</sup>

**Reception was divided.** Praise centered on the ensemble cast, the production design, and the restrained romance; criticism targeted the pacing, the first episode's depiction of the Shen women's deaths, and what some reviewers saw as an unresolved tension between the heroine's rebellion and her reward of marriage and household authority.<sup>[14](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_33754239)</sup> More than 10,000 short reviews accumulated on Douban without a score opening, which commentators read as a sign of a sharply split audience.<sup>[14](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_33754239)</sup> A separate dispute concerned data: the platform heat rose quickly while third-party Yunhe effective-playback market share lagged behind comparable heat levels, prompting debate over measurement methods.<sup>[15](https://ent.sina.cn/2026-09-19/detail-inishvks8098337.d.html)</sup> A further dispute concerned the original author's credit: the novelist publicly objected that the production had changed character names without notice and omitted her from official posters and promotion.<sup>[16](https://ent.sina.cn/2026-09-12/detail-inirpcvm1830484.d.html?oid=MCW%E3%80%908SBET.QPON%E3%80%91.kito&vt=4)</sup>

## References

1. [腾讯视频：《兰香如故》定档9月11日, 中国网络视听节目服务协会](https://www.cnsa.cn/art/2026/9/10/art_1989_49296.html)
2. [兰香如故 - WeTV](https://wetv.vip/zh-cn/play/94jt6sxiwsjw5n6-%E5%85%B0%E9%A6%99%E5%A6%82%E6%95%85)
3. [Against the Current - DramaWiki](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Against_the_Current)
4. [兰香如故（2026年刘学义、谭松韵主演的古装社会家庭剧）_百度百科](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E3%80%8A%E5%85%B0%E9%A6%99%E5%A6%82%E6%95%85%E3%80%8B/63111041?fromModule=lemma_inlink)
5. [《兰香如故》收官直播的收视成绩究竟如何？, 新浪微博](https://m.weibo.cn/2/detail/comos%3Anivvnpv5878467)
6. [《兰香如故》剧情梳理：年度爆款为何争议与热度齐飞？, 新浪新闻](https://k.sina.com.cn/article_7879922982_1d5ae15260680bd03k.html)
7. [《兰香如故》主要内容是什么？许兰香林锦岐推拉式官配为何被称反套路古偶天花板, 新浪娱乐](https://ent.sina.cn/2026-09-17/detail-inisaiep4455563.d.html)
8. [《兰香如故》观众反响两极化：首播热度破22000、央8收视1.37, 新浪新闻](https://k.sina.com.cn/article_7879922982_1d5ae15260680bc6xa.html?from=ent)
9. [古装剧《兰香如故》探索国风美学表达, 新华网](https://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/20260911/c4a6631fd8bf4cc2bb8c0ab42426b336/c.html)
10. [《兰香如故》导演黄颖湘回北大，与老师陈宇对谈, 新京报](https://www.bjnews.com.cn/detail/1792297495019938.html)
11. [《兰香如故》的播出时间, 新浪娱乐](https://k.sina.cn/article_7880068358_1d5b04d0606801b64k.html)
12. [《蘭香如故》線上看更新時間！Disney+追劇日曆、演員角色與原著結局一覽, TVBS](https://news.tvbs.com.tw/entertainment/drama/4023952)
13. [《兰香如故》更新至18集，热度破年度纪录, 新浪新闻](https://ent.sina.cn/2026-09-19/detail-inisiwvx2466885.d.html?vt=4)
14. [《兰香如故》：我们不需要又一部让女眷集体自尽的古装剧, 澎湃新闻](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_33754239)
15. [《兰香如故》数据倒挂争议为何爆发？, 新浪娱乐](https://ent.sina.cn/2026-09-19/detail-inishvks8098337.d.html)
16. [《兰香如故》首播热度破22000但口碑两极？, 新浪娱乐](https://ent.sina.cn/2026-09-12/detail-inirpcvm1830484.d.html?oid=MCW%E3%80%908SBET.QPON%E3%80%91.kito&vt=4)
17. [《兰香如故》更新至18集，热度破年度纪录, 新浪新闻](https://k.sina.com.cn/article_7880068798_1d5b04ebe06801ctdi.html)
18. [《蘭香如故》大結局是BE？47集直通完結！停更原因、結局流出與追劇日曆, TVBS](https://news.tvbs.com.tw/entertainment/drama/4028750)
19. [Against the Current, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/78158/against-the-current)
20. [在线观看剧集《兰香如故 (2026)》, Amo](https://amo.watch/zh/tv/%E5%85%B0%E9%A6%99%E5%A6%82%E6%95%85-282326/)

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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › East Asian drama series › East Asian web and streaming serials › Titles symbols to Co*

*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*

*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*

License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license